Page 27 of Cause Of Death

I quickly initiate one of my voice recording programs before hitting the answer icon, putting it on speaker so that Edgar can listen in. I lift my finger to my lips to indicate he should remain silent, and he nods in acknowledgment.

“Adam Knight speaking,” I bark out, my tone letting the caller know just how few fucks I have left to give, “who are you and what do you want?”

“Adam, it’s Kier,” a voice I never thought to hear again lilts from the speaker, and I collapse in my chair in relief. Edgar mirrors my movement, tears springing from the man’s eyes.

“Kier,” I mutter hoarsely, struggling to hold onto the emotions threatening to overwhelm me, “where the fuck are you? Are you injured? Whose phone are you using? Are you safe?” I shoot out the questions in rapid succession, unable to stop and let him answer.

“Adam, I need you to come to me. Just you, nobody else. I also need you to let my dad know I’m okay, but he can’t come after me. Not yet.”

I blink in confusion, glancing over at Edgar to see the same befuddlement on his face.

“Kieran, son, I’m here. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear your voice. What’s going on?” Edgar interposes, hurt tinging his voice.

Muffled voices and the sound of a phone being passed over to another person comes through the speaker, and then a voice wrapped in sin and temptation speaks.

“Hello, Mr. Prince. Hello, Mr. Knight. You may both call me Wisp. You don’t know me, but trust me when I say that I know the both of you.”

Wisp’s voice, so sultry and seductive, has me clenching my fists in an attempt to wrangle my libido under control. Pain shoots up my left arm from the movement, and I have to make a conscious effort to not further irritate the healing bone. I don’t know why I’m having such a visceral reaction to simply hearing her voice, but there’s only one other person who has been able to rile me up like this in the past, and he’s now in her clutches.

Fuck me. I’msoscrewed.

“Now, both of you are to listen to me very,verycarefully. Donotask any questions, all will be revealed in due course. I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but I need you both to trust me, and to trust Kieran when he vouches for everything I’m about to tell you.”

A ball of dread forms low in my belly, and nausea roils through me as a sense of doom curls up my spine.

“I was there yesterday when Kieran was taken. First of all, let me assure you that I had no part in the accident or abduction, other than being an unwilling participant myself. However, due to my… shall we say,uniquenature, those responsible had no idea that I was a witness to their every action. I was able to travel with them and keep an eye on Kieran, and when we eventually arrived at their chosen destination, I was also able to dispatch them all without too much trouble. But not before uncoveringthemultiplecontracts that have been taken out on your son, Mr. Prince.”

I want to vomit. I also want to scream and rage anddestroy. But I can’t do any of those things, because Kieran is out there somewhere, without me, without his medication, and with an unknown woman who is driving my alpha instincts fucking insane.

“I trust you, Mr. Prince. I also trust you, Mr. Knight, and not just because of what Kieran has told me. I know about you both. I know what you prefer to eat for breakfast, who tailors your suits, and how often your bed sheets need washing. I knoweverything.Fuck, I even know which brand of toilet paper you use to wipe your ass. I prefer the unscented over the sweet lilac and vanilla, myself, but each to their own.”

I choke back a snort as Edgar blushes, biting down hard on my lower lip to stop the enormous grin threatening to overtake my face.

“Yes, yes, how amusing. Now, as I was saying, I trust you both. However, I donottrust anyone else with the following information. Not your security team, Mr. Knight, and no, not even your wife, Mr. Prince. This is to stay between us, and I can tell you right now that if you don’t stop recording this call this instant, Mr. Knight, then I will perform a remote factory reset on your cell and wipeeverythingfrom your cloud.”

That threat successfully erases any lingering mirth, and I swiftly move to follow Wisp’s order, even though a voice in my head screams not to, that this is all a trap.

But I can’t risk it. I don’t know how she knows I was recording the call, but I can’t risk Kieran. I won’t endanger his life, and I can’t afford to lose the information I’ve been steadily uncovering regarding a possible plot against him. With a quick tap and a swipe, I not only end the recording, but erase it as well.

“Done. Now, tell us why nobody else can be trusted, and why you haven’t returned Kieran to us,” I bark, and Wisp’s response is not one I could have ever imagined possible.

“Kieran is being hunted. By a group of dark web alphas.”

It takesa good fifteen minutes for Edgar and me to get the full account of what had gone down after the car accident, and to say we are livid would be an understatement. It takes even more time and multiple reassurances from Kieran for us to believe that he is fine. It isn’t until he includes the special phrase we established when I first came to work for the Prince family to indicate that he isn’t under duress and is actually safe before we actually stop freaking out. Once we’re certain that he’s being protected by a team dedicated to keeping him safe and hidden, we finally settle down to listen to the plan that Wisp has created to deal with those who are after Kieran.

“Our main issue at the moment is two-fold,” she begins, and a chill runs up my spine at the seriousness of her tone. Whatever she’s about to say is going to have far-reaching consequences, I justknowit.

“Kieran is withoutallof his medications—he doesn’t have any of his vitamins or supplements, any immune globulin injections, and most important of all, he’s missed his daily Polar dose.”

And there it is. The other shoe dropping.

“I don’t understand… what does that mean for Kieran?” Edgar hesitantly probes, and I’m surprised that Wisp understands the gravity of the situation. Unless…

“Edgar, your son is an omega. You already know this. Polar completely suppresses his heats and several other key omega instincts. However, since he’s missed at least one dose and will be unable to take another before Adam gets here, he’s about to experience an extremely intense heat. Now, among my team are an alpha and three betas, but there’s also another omega. Kieran’s oncoming heat has set her own cycle askew, even though she’s been taking a different type of suppressant. So, we’re now facing two omegas feeding off each other’s heat pheromones, and with only one alpha available to try and ease their discomfort.”

Edgar swears viciously under his breath, and then spears me with a glare.

“Wisp, I would like to speak to my son for a moment. Will you grant us a minute or two of privacy?”

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